1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus and method by which necessary data can be obtained in response to a desired characteristic amount.
2. Description of the Related Art
JPEG 2000 (Joint Photographic Experts Group 2000) standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) in 2000 has such various characteristics that it allows encoding in high compressibility, that it is ready for both of reversible compression and irreversible compression, that it allows encoding so that the resolution or the picture quality is improved by scalability and that it allows encoding so as to enhance the error resisting property. Thus, JPEG 2000 is expected as an alternative technique of JPEG (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-311327).
In 2004, JPEG 2000 Part-1 was selected as a standard codec by the standard for digital cinema (DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives). This made it possible to standardize the encoding methods from image pickup to image editing and image distribution of digital cinema with JPEG 2000.
Also it is studied to secondarily distribute digital cinema content encoded by JPEG 2000 in this manner to a live event or a small-scale movie theater, to provide such digital cinema content to a user of a virtual space providing service, for example, to screen such digital cinema content in a movie theater in a virtual space or to distribute such digital cinema content to a portable electronic apparatus like a portable telephone set or a notebook type personal computer.